Wind knocks out power to thousands ahead of Seahawks game

As much of the country has undergone or is currently experiencing the wrath of Mother Nature in recent days, the Pacific Northwest has joined in that dubious distinction.

While much of the area has largely avoided the snow and bitter cold that affected NFL playoff games last week, Seattle has seen over an inch of rain in the past 24-hours and high winds are causing several power outages.

The National Weather Service currently has a high wind advisory in place until 12 a.m. Sunday for much of the area with gusts warned to reach as high as 57 MPH.

Thunderstorms are also possible.  Since CenturyLink Field is an outdoor venue, any lightning produced by the storm could cause delays for the Seahawks divisional round playoff game against the New Orleans Saints Saturday afternoon.

According to the Associated Press, via MyNorthwest.com, Puget Sound Energy is reporting that 500 power outages have been reported, affecting nearly 38,000 customers in Western Washington.

For those without power wondering where they can watch, with thousands more outages in the Seattle area reportedly occurring, a solution has already been determined, per the report:

"Seattle City Light said that at one point early Saturday it had 28,000 customers without power, but it managed to restore 20,000 within a few hours. It advised on its Twitter feed that for anyone still without power at the 1:30 p.m. game time, the Seattle central Library would be showing it on its big screen."